I always thought that last generation fighter combat helmets—like the Eurofighter Typhoon's Head Equipment Assembly or the F-35 demon helmet—tracked the pilot's head position using gyroscopes. It turns out that they are more Kinect than Wiimote.

The current land speed record is 763 mph. The British team that holds that record is seeking to shatter it with their cutting edge rocket car, the Bloodhound SSC. Their goal? To top 1,000 mph. But it takes a lot of science to create a vehicle capable of withstanding the forces in play at those speeds.The old record,…